Website Is Wrong

To the Editor:

Hard to know where to begin in response to Nick Giglia's misleading letter in last week's Garden City News. First, as to his identity, Mr. Giglia on his Web site refers to himself as an "independent advocate" and signs his posts simply as "Nick" (until the current posting regarding my letter in which he supplied his last name and town). Perhaps regular followers of his blog know who he is, but I certainly do not. I accept that he is who he says he is in his letter. Nevertheless, his Web site is visually similar to the Wang/Rechler Lighthouse Web site and his reasons for supporting the current proposal are strikingly similar to the arguments in the "top10 facts and big seven benefits" section of the official Lighthouse Web site. My disagreement is with Mr. Giglia's conclusions, not how he got there.

Second, I was writing as a private citizen in my July 31 letter to the Garden City News, not in my capacity as the EPOA corresponding secretary. I believe I still have that right. When I spoke at the DGEIS hearing on August 4, I was speaking on behalf of the EPOA and I identified myself as such. I read a document approved by the EPOA board of directors, a document that addressed our environmental concerns, which was the purpose of the hearing, despite its pep rally "build it now" atmosphere.

As to not approaching Mr. Giglia at the DGEIS hearing, how would I? I didn't know he spoke. I only knew him from his blog as a self-identified "independent advocate." I didn't know his last name and I don't know what he looks like.

Regarding the Lighthouse itself, what I object to is the massive size of the project and the problems that flow from that. It's the size of a small city. No one I know is against progressive development on Long Island. "All or nothing" is a political strawman favored by supporters of the current proposal, when in reality it's "Wang's way or the highway."

Scale it back. Charles Wang has shown no interest whatsoever in compromise and neither have the "build it now" crowd. Instead, he threatens to move the Islanders unless he gets his development, his way, right now-all 5.5 million sq ft of it.

You are right about one thing, Mr. Giglia. In addition to alerting residents to the DGEIS hearing, the purpose of my letter to the Garden City News was to make residents aware of your Web site-not you, Mr. Giglia-your Web site. A Web site that regularly characterizes Garden City as a NIMBY community. A Web site that dismisses as narrow our legitimate concerns with environmental and economic issues that will negatively affect our village, where, after all, we actually live. A Web site that denigrates as "petty nonsense" our concern that light rail transit eventually could be imposed on Garden City, literally cutting this village in two as it runs past the back yards of those unfortunate residents whose homes abut the tracks. Because Mr. Giglia lived happily across the street from light rail while attending college, he doesn't understand why residents of Garden City have a problem with it. How's that for an open discussion?

All I asked in my letter was for Garden City residents to take a look at your Web site. Thanks for helping.

Christine Mullaney

Just Say No

Town of Hempstead

Supervisor Kate Murray

Printed By Request

Dear Supervisor Murray:

What's wrong with the Lighthouse?

When the Lighthouse project is fully completed, Nassau County will be forever changed to a more urban environment. The creation of a dense-mixed use landscape will seriously alter the entire county but will have a particularly deleterious effect on the villages and unincorporated areas of both the Town of Hempstead and the Town of North Hempstead.

The addition of 1 million sq. ft. of office space will create no new jobs. The developers have no vision of how to attract businesses from outside of Nassau County. The result of their efforts will be to move existing office tenants to the New Lighthouse at the expense of office complexes from the surrounding communities. Will they offer sweetheart deals at low rents to fill up their space with large incentive packages and one-time bonuses? Since almost 20% of all office space in the county is now vacant, who will fill the 1 million sq. ft. of new space?

Then how about 500,000 sq. ft. of retail? With the Source Mall practically empty, with Home Expo gone, and vacancies at Roosevelt Field, where will all these retail stores come from? The main shopping streets in our local communities are all ready suffering from the recession. High rents and shrinking revenues are driving many of our Mom & Pop small businesses to the brink of bankruptcy. When office tenants move to the Lighthouse will our restaurants suffer from the lack of customers? The cycle will cause serious problems for all downtowns.

The Village of Garden City, Westbury and Hempstead will be particularly hard hit due to their proximity to the project. This is particularly vexing since none of the tax benefits of this project will follow through to local communities other than Uniondale.

When you really look at this project in its totality, it is very pedestrian. A bunch of dense square buildings, a couple of tall towers, housing similar to many New York City projects. There is a canal but when you look at the Lighthouse, its nothing more than Co-Op City with a commercial center.

There will, of course, be construction jobs and the Islanders will stay on Long Island but the price will be the urbanization of central Nassau and that can never be reversed. We can emulate Queens County but I don't think most of us want to live there.

The Town of Hempstead has the ultimate say as to whether this project is approved or not. Their decision will echo for years to come and their legacy will be determined, by their courage to reject this over-planned, over-developed and overly hyped mega boondoggle.

Say "NO" to urbanization, say "NO" to political pressure, say "NO" to the unions, say "NO" to the developers, do the right thing for us and for our children.

P.S. Just for the record, Nassau County is a great place to live. I don't think because, as Mr. Souzzi says, "we are a mature suburb means we need to grow or develop anything." The population grew in the last census so it seems people want to live here as we are. Who decided for us that we need a big central HUB??? Will our air quality be better, do we get cleaner water, does traffic ease, will our schools be better or will a small group reap millions in profits?? Does the current partnership spin off pieces of the development to others?? Who really wins if this project goes through???

Dennis Donnelly

Impressive Letter

To the Editor:

The Lighthouse Project can generate a lot of letters, just as St. Paul's did, and still can.

It was impressing to read the letter from Nick Giglia in the August 14th issue. Although long, it did cover a lot of subject matter, and was therefore in my opinion, succinct.

A thought he noted was that Long Island loses if we can't get beyond demonization and identity politics to do something for the greater good.

Let's be open-minded in carefully considering progress.

Steve Brent

Communities Should Work Together

To the Editor:

Much of the written material I have seen on the proposed 'development' of Mitchel Field and the upgrades/upsizing of Nassau Coliseum focus on traffic flow, the effect on the local economy, and the Islanders. I am writing because I have not yet seen an addressing of the issue of open space/greenspace. I am aware that many months ago, the Village of Garden City made the decision to hire an engineering/consulting firm to help assure that that Village's interests would be heard loud and clear; at the same time, their decision was to present only the Village's view, alone, not linked with those of the surrounding communities; because they felt the soon-to-come light rail/traffic issues impacted them uniquely.

After reading many opinions in various newspapers and seeing a television interview with a Nassau County government official and one of the Project's developers, I feel that amongst the discussions on shopping, traffic flow and jobs, there is another issue of at least equal importance; the value of open space and green space.

For the past sixteen years, I have spent significant amounts of time in the various regions of Nassau County. It did not take me long at all to figure out why being in this place is a goal for so many: in general, the sense of personal safety, slower, more courteous pace, the greenery, the human-scale development, easy parking at places of business. Over time, I came to notice that some parts of the county—generally the wealthy villages and hamlets—have more generous portions of these intangibles than others. Over the years, I have come to understand that there are many historical, sociopolitical, and geographic reasons for this divide. I also understand that there is value and validity to every opinion on this proposed 21st century Project.

For me, the main issue is what appears to be the impending loss of the last large tract of open space in the center of Nassau County. The inhabitants of the communities contiguous to this space (Uniondale & East Meadow) are people of ordinary means—people who go to work daily and bring home a whole lot less than the proverbial quarter of a million dollars—-neither 'old money' nor 'new money'. If the space is developed to the extent that the Lighthouse Development Group plans, the end result will be that the only Nassau County residents to have unobstructed open space—skyviews and greenery as far as the eye can see—will be those on the far north and far south shores. In my opinion, this presents an unfair disparity that needs addressing on whatever governmental level will listen. I will go so far as to opine that the Lighthouse Development Group has already studied the census tracts and come to the conclusion that the local inhabitants, for various social reasons, cannot or will not band together in an effective manner to keep the project from moving forward, but will rather be divided by social class, sports enthusiasm, and the instinct to protect local commerce.

There are office parks in Nassau County, but nothing on this proposed scale. Many of these office parks, for instance, the one on Franklin Avenue in Garden City, are so well-designed that one could pass them without thinking of them as such—because of the building materials, heights, and landscaping.

I fear for the nearby communities that do not have the money to hire a firm to speak for them, as Garden City has done. These communities are the villages and hamlets along Hempstead Turnpike: Elmont, Franklin Square, West Hempstead, Hempstead, Uniondale, East Meadow, Levittown, and Bethpage. I fear that if the Project goes through as planned, and Garden City is successful in blocking the corollary light rail, the light rail will end up in the backyard of at least one of the above areas. Yet, based on certain well-known social factors, I do not see these communities banding together, but rather remaining fearful, distant and apprehensive—the end result being the dumping ground for transit to and from the Project area, while the money generated from the Project goes to the North Shore, and nobody asks the Project developers why they did not purchase 150 acres of land on the North Shore from whoever owns them and build a city with a sports complex, shopping mall, luxury hotel, light rail system, and workforce/affordable housing there.

Angela Leach

A Dedicated Teacher

To the Editor:

We noted the sad news of Ann Bohlin's death listed in your paper a few weeks ago-and have been hoping that there would be a follow-up article. Ann was an extremely beloved teacher who shone in her ability to connect with and relate to all students. Her carefully crafted lessons and engaging assignments reflected her creativity, intelligence, warmth, and humor - and her holistic approach to teaching (introducing students to meditative reflections, interdisciplinary projects, and Socratic seminars) was truly ahead of its time. Most importantly, Mrs. Bohlin's ability to see - and bring out - the best in all of her students created a familial atmosphere in her classroom, a haven where they felt nurtured and supported as they challenged themselves to reach the potential she saw in them.

Mrs. Bohlin was very active in both the Arts & Ed Committee and the Gifted Committee. She brought poets into the school, organized trips to what is now called the Long Island High School for the Arts, and modeled both the act of writing for her students as well as the joy of living every moment to its fullest. She was one of the few teachers who truly enjoyed working with gifted children - perhaps, in part, because she treated every student as "gifted," and delighted in the gifts she saw in every child. She organized trips to the Adelphi University Library to teach advanced forms of research, as well as trips into New York City. Her assignments were filled with exciting interdisciplinary studies, such as her "This is the Week that Was" project, historical fiction writing, etc. Her classroom door was always open - and she encouraged students to come to her with their concerns (whether academic or personal in nature). She was there early in the morning and late in the afternoon, both for students who were having academic difficulties and for those who craved even more enriched work.

Finally, Mrs. Bohlin always emphasized the importance of enjoying the little things, explaining that "one day we'll look back and realize they were really the big things." Her core belief in the beauty of the world not only made her class an uplifting experience (even for teenagers!), but also provided her students with a powerful message to take with them as they entered high school and beyond.

In short, Mrs. Bohlin was a sweet, gentle, creative person who dedicated her life to Garden City students. We all feel blessed for having known her.

Jessica, Emily, and Barbara Bengels

MTA Changes Plan

To The Editor:

On August 10 th the MTA released a Draft 2010-2014 Capital Program document and a 20-Year Capital Needs Assessment document for public review and comment. It seems that the LIRR Main Line Corridor Improvements Project has morphed into something called the LIRR Strategic Corridor Improvements Program. The LIRR Strategic Corridor Improvements program redefines the main line as being between Jamaica station in Queens County and Ronkonkoma station in Suffolk County.

The MTA press release, Executive Summary Presentation and Draft 2010-2014 Capital Program documents make absolutely no mention of at-grade crossing elimination or a Main Line Third Track from Floral Park to Hicksville. In fact the MTA LIRR Program Plan and Project Lists show no line item money allocated for at-grade crossing elimination and the third track as was the case in previous capital programs. Where did the hundreds of millions of dollars earmarked for these projects go?

Midway through the third paragraph on page forty-eight of the Draft Capital Needs Assessment 2010-2029 document it reads, "The construction of a full second electrified track on the main line from Farmingdale to Ronkonkoma will provide a substantial increase in train capacity and greatly improve service reliability and recovery time following incidents for this very busy and crowded railroad corridor." In the first phase of this project, a second track would be constructed from Ronkonkoma to Central Islip. The paragraph continues with, "Another opportunity to expand service and improve reliability along the Main Line Corridor is the construction of a third track between Floral Park and Hicksville. The LIRR intends to restart the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) process during the 2015-2019 Capital Program, with construction in the following two capital programs." Talk about being left in limbo. Especially when Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) arbitrators just cost the MTA $600 million a year they do not have even with the new payroll tax and 10% fare hike. So you can add ten years to the above fairy tale timelines.

It is curious that the Nassau County main line third track is put off indefinitely in favor of a Suffolk County main line second track without any mention of at-grade crossing elimination. Could it be that those pesky Nassau County main line villages are just temporary obstacles to the progressive thinkers and sages in our midst? There are no villages to worry about along the Suffolk County main line. Why not build there first? Hopefully, the progressive thinkers and sages surmise that by the time the second track is built, those pesky Nassau County main line villages will be consolidated right out of the third track's way.

Edward W. Powers

New Hyde Park